I’ve done some photography at hacker events in the last few years; DEF CON 31 and 32, CCCamp 2023, and Toorcamp 2024. I’ve got some policies, techniques, and tips to share.

Most of the pictures here aren’t resized. If you want a better look, open them in a new tab.

Policies

DEF CON’s policy since 2023 is roughly that photography with consent is allowed. Being on stage implies consent, being in the CTF room is explicitly not consent, and blurring out non-subjects with “portrait mode” is encouraged. Press and official DEF CON photo goons are also expected to follow these policies.

Techniques

Going Fast

Fast primes are great for these kinds of events, both because they pull in more light and work better in the dark, and they give you a ton of control over what’s in focus.

DEF CON 31, EOS R, EF 50mm f/1.4 USM, f/1.4, 1/80, ISO 800

Shooting them wide open gets you that “portrait mode;” you also get to use a faster shutter or lower/less-noisy ISO in the same light. Sometimes you get vignetting, weirdly-shaped bokeh balls, lens flare, and other aberrations wide open. I lean into it.

DEF CON 32, EOS R5, EF 50mm f/1.0L USM, f/1.0, 1/60, ISO 500

Going Slow

In the hard opposite direction, you might try some long exposures. Every time I do this, it takes me way too long to remember that time-priority mode is a thing, and it’ll automatically solve aperture and ISO for the duration of exposure you want.

CCCamp 2023, EOS R, RF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM, f/4, 30s, ISO 50 (both)

Long exposures are pretty good at removing people, since we move.

Toorcamp 2024, EOS R5, RF 85mm f/1.2L USM DS, f/1.2, 1s, ISO 400

Mixing this with a flash is fun too.

Toorcamp 2024, EOS R5, RF 85mm f/1.2L USM DS, f/1.8, 1s, ISO 400

For Toorcamp 2024 and DEF CON 32 I brought a couple handheld multicolor LED lights. I used the hell out of ‘em at Toorcamp and never turned ‘em on once at DEF CON.

Toorcamp 2024, EOS R5, RF 85mm f/1.2L USM DS, f/1.2, 1/125, ISO 400

Getting Consent

I still find it awkward to ask “is it alright if I take a picture of you?” I feel like I overthink the vibes of the situation, but it means that the worst I’ve gotten is a “no.” Sometimes (if it’s loud or busy) I’ll tap on the camera and make a thumbs-up thumbs-down gesture.

If it’s a group you’re spending lots of time with, you can definitely have a longer conversation about what you’ll do with the photos, and what situations are alright ahead of time.

Worst case, you can always delete the photo while they watch.

Shooting Film

This is way more dicey and annoying than digital. I shot a roll at DEF CON 31 and two rolls at Cccamp 2023. There’s suddenly inventory management and decisions to be made about what film stock to load.

I realized at the airport on the way to DEF CON 31 that I only brought 50mm lenses, with the FD 50mm f/1.8 on the film camera. It’s nice and fast, which paired well with the Kodak Ultramax 400 I loaded.

I brought a slow roll of CineStill 50D and a super-slow roll of Lomography Babylon 13 to camp. I had the digital for night shots, so these were for natural light.

Final

It’s hard to get the time to attend these events, and they’re all big enough that you have to really pick and choose how what you see and experience. Choosing to spend that time staring through a camera is a choice! You can use photography as a way to meet new people, see things a new way, and remember things once the summer’s over.

Vito

Vito is a world-recognized CTF thought leader with over ten succesful CTF games run, speeches about CTF on multiple continents, and a pretty good showing at the 35C3 Junior CTF.

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